Cole Burton

Congratulations Rosie!! Looking forward to working with you and the team on this project. Way to go! 👏

TWS Journals We investigated little-studied feral horses in west-central British Columbia, Canada, as a potential competitor for native moose and mule deer. We did not find strong evidence that feral horses exclu...

"Free rein: Are feral horses competing with native ungulates in British Columbia?"

IBioS Member @coleburton.bsky.social and colleagues address the role of feral species in #wildlife declines and #ecosystem degradation in the following article:

wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Yes I think that could be true but we really need to look at it through this lens for more populations

*talking about

Oh, and this part of Fig 1 might help visualize what we're taking about:

Thanks again for the question (fire away with more), and stay tuned for more research from our lab on the indirect effects of wolf reduction on other species in this ecosystem, like coyotes 8/8

Ultimately, in my mind, this reinforces what we know from many angles: wolf reduction is not a silver bullet to solve the caribou conundrum, and we certainly need more prioritization of protection and restoration of caribou habitat! 7/8

And since lots of caribou were calving in gradual, there was no overall increase in calf survival for the population. This isn’t consistent with the story that wolf reduction is working for caribou, and suggests it’s not so simple: effects depend on characteristics of the herd and their calving. 6/8

But in the gradual area, since wolves and other preds were eating calves of the same age, the other preds can “compensate” for the loss of wolves by eating more of the young calves. Hence, we don’t see an increase in calf survival there (and mortality age doesn’t change). 5/8

When the government removes wolves, the other predators don’t eat the older calves that wolves were eating in the rugged area, so we see the expected increase in calf survival (and average age of dying calves goes down, since older calves no longer being eaten). 4/8

Other predators (e.g. bears, wolverines) tend to eat younger calves everywhere (can access rugged). So essentially predation by wolves is different from that of other predators in rugged terrain (“additive”) but similar in gradual (“compensatory”). 3/8

This herd has 2 calving areas that differ in terrain: 1 rugged, 1 gradual. Wolves have trouble accessing rugged, so wouldn’t encounter (eat) those calves until they are older (>14 days) and moving downslope. Wolves would encounter/eat younger calves (~10 days) in more accessible gradual areas. 2/8

Thanks for the question @johnemarriott.bsky.social! Admittedly it is a complex paper. Setting aside analytical complexity, I’ll provide some thoughts here on my take-homes from the study … 1/8

📷🦌Cover article! Congrats to @wildco.bsky.social PhD candidate Taz for leading this nuanced paper showing that the effects of wolf reduction on caribou calf survival depend on landscape context. Compensation by other predators may limit benefits for caribou. #openaccess doi.org/10.1002/jwmg....

There are 3 exciting postdoctoral openings to work on biodiversity research, monitoring and conservation with us at UBC - check them out!

2 positions: biodiversity.ubc.ca/training-and...

1 position: science-bcbiodiversitynetwork-2025.sites.olt.ubc.ca/opportunities/

Today's federal budget puts nearly $90-billion toward capital spending, national defense, housing & economic growth. But one thing is missing: nature.

Instead, it incl:

❌ The possible end of the oil & gas emissions cap
❌ Cuts to ECCC & the DFO
❌ No new funding to protect or restore biodiversity

Happy to share that the third paper from my PhD is now published! We estimated remote sensing-derived forest structural and functional integrity on Vancouver Island and examined the influence of anthropogenic pressure on these metrics. Open access here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

All of these and more are available via our Google Scholar page - check them out and let us know what you think! scholar.google.ca/citations?hl... (6/6)

Estimating Causal Impacts of Human Recreation on Wildlife in the Absence of Experimental Controls Much recent research has focused on the impact of human recreation on wildlife, but relatively few studies have used causal inference approaches; doing so would strengthen recreation management and d...

Collaborator Robin Naidoo led a powerful study using 6 years of camera trap data, natural experiments reducing outdoor recreation, and causal inference methods to show that recreation was reducing grizzly bear activity in the South Chilcotin mountains doi.org/10.1111/conl... (5/6)

TWS Journals Mountain pine beetle outbreaks and associated management alter habitat selection by large ungulates. Using GPS collar data, we found that caribou responses to beetle-affected, timber-harvested, and b...

Postdoc Laura Griffin collab'd w @lfinnegal.bsky.social @friresearch.bsky.social and analyzed telemetry data for caribou and moose in AB to show nuanced responses to forest disturbances from pine beetle, harvest & fire, including avoidance by caribou and female moose doi.org/10.1002/jwmg... (4/6)

Importance of connectivity for carnivore richness and occupancy in fragmented biodiversity hotspots Structural connectivity affects wildlife movement between habitat patches, contributing to the persistence of wildlife populations and their resilience to human-induced and environmental changes. How...

PhD Cindy Hurtado led evaluation of richness and occupancy for 12 carnivores in 23 landscapes in N Peru and W Ecuador, highlighting importance of habitat connectivity in maintaining carnivore communities (esp impt for forest mesocarnivores) (3/6) conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Affirming Indigenous data sovereignty in collaborative wildlife conservation in the era of open data Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

PhD candidate Erin Tattersall led this perspective on upholding Indigenous data sovereignty in an era of open science - particularly important for emerging collaborative wildlife surveys with camera traps and other sensors doi.org/10.1002/pan3... (2/6)

I haven't posted here for awhile but we've had several papers come out that I'm excited about, so check out this #WildCo roundup of recent publications! @wildco.bsky.social @forestry.ubc.ca (thread: 1/6)

Job post: CERC in Natural Resources Governance Job Post: UBC Forestry is recruiting a leading researcher in Natural Resources Governance for a Canada Excellence Research Chair nomination.

#UBCForestry is hiring a researcher in Natural Resources Governance who is eligible for nomination for a Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC).

Learn more about the position and apply here: forestry.ubc.ca/career-oppor...

The WildCo Lab @wildco.bsky.social is recruiting 2 postdocs in quantitative ecology to work on mammal population estimation and monitoring from camera trap data. 🐺🐻🦌📷📈
Please share the word or apply to join us at UBC in lovely Vancouver, Canada!
wildlife.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2025/0...

Show Your Stripes Visualising how the climate has changed for every country across the globe

showyourstripes.info/c/northameri...

Thanks to Katie and the many supporters and collaborators, including the WildCo Lab (especially Tazarve Gharajehdaghipour and Zoe Konanz), @forestry.ubc.ca‬, BC Caribou Recovery Program, BC Parks, Robin Steenweg and Mathieu Bourbonnais. Check out the infographic☝️and open access paper (7/7)

The generality of DMAC as a driver of caribou decline requires more study across varied ecosystems to guide management actions. #Cameratraps provide a valuable tool for monitoring the responses of caribou and interacting species to habitat disturbance and recovery. (6/7)

Wolves and other predators tracked their prey but were not consistently associated with disturbed habitats, which caribou did not avoid. While disturbances from fire and logging are influencing the dynamics of this wildlife community, their direct and indirect effects on caribou are less clear (5/7)

Satellite data and #cameratrap surveys provided mixed evidence. Burnt and logged areas had low vegetation productivity but some pulse following disturbance and were used more by moose and deer (especially burnt areas). (4/7)